Brazil consumers fine firm for GM chicken feed
December 6, 2000 3:34pm
Source: Reuters
By Reese Ewing
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A Brazilian poultry firm is crying foul after a
government-linked consumer watchdog group triggered the country's
first fine for feeding bioengineered corn to chickens. Brazil, now a
world leader in biotechnology research, bans the commercial planting
or sale of genetically modified (GM) crops, mostly corn and soybeans.
And opposing interests have turned the country's attempt at
regulation into a morass. Procon, a consumer agency linked to the
Justice Ministry, fined local poultry company Avipal 500,000 reais
($255,000) this week after it imported a little over 9,000 tonnes of
genetically modified corn from Argentina -- although a regional
federal court had approved the grain's entrance into the country.
Argentina is the world's second-largest producer of GM crops after
the United States. It shares a border with Latin America's largest
agricultural power Brazil and the two nations are the leading
partners in the Mercosur trade bloc. ``When there is doubt, we want
to secure the safety of the consumer or at least guarantee his right
to choose. At the point of purchase of the product, the chicken or
the egg, the consumer must be informed of its origin,'' said Renato
Dorneles, operations director at Procon's Rio Grande do Sul office.
Brazil has no legislation requiring the labeling of GM foods. A
tripartite government commission drafted a law several months ago in
this vein but it has been bogged down in various ministries that have
been unable to agree on what quantity of GM material should mandate a
warning label.
Avipal Director Jose Carlos Treiguer said none of the animal grade
corn was earmarked for human consumption and only a small quantity
would be used in egg production. Most of the corn was simply being
stored for another company. ``We only intend to use a little of the
corn for egg production, but most of it is just being held in
storage. We haven't fed any of the corn to animals for slaughter,
including chickens,'' said Treiguer. After a GM grain passes through
the digestive system of an animal such as a cow or chicken, there is
no detectable trace of the grain's genetic material in the meat or
eggs. Stomach acids break down the DNA of the grain, a spokeswoman
for the world environmental group Greenpeace in Brazil said recently.
``There is no way to detect transgenic material in meats from animals
fed on GM feed. DNA codes that are exposed to acids, vinegar or high
temperatures break down and it is impossible to find any trace of GM
material,'' said Greenpeace's biotech specialist in Brazil Mariana
Paoli. Paoli added that Greenpeace would like to see clear labeling
on meats fed on GM feeds. Procon's Dorneles said the regional federal
court based its decision to allow the importation of GM grain on a
finding of the CTNBio, the government's official regulatory body on
GM policy. It had found that at least 13 commercial varieties of GM
corn were safe to import for animal feed in Brazil.
But this was not a sufficient guarantee for Procon, said Dorneles.
Other consumer groups like Greenpeace and the local group IDEC have
also questioned the authority of the CTNBio. Unlike the other two
agricultural giants in the hemisphere -- the U.S. and Argentina --
Brazil has been reluctant to embrace the biotechnological
advancements of the last half decade and has tried to ban the
commercial planting, importing and sale of GM crops and products.
Nonetheless, ships with GM corn from Argentina have been unloading
their cargo for Brazil's thriving northeast poultry and pig industry
in recent months because of a shortage in the national corn supply
caused by a drought and frosts over the southern farm belt. Moreover,
the state seed association in Rio Grande do Sul -- where Procon
imposed its fine on Avipal -- has said for the last two years that at
least 30 percent of the state's commercial soybeans have been grown
from illegal GM strains, smuggled over the border from Argentina.
Procon has taken no action against the farmers. ``The state of Rio
Grande do Sul is resolutely intent on transforming itself into a
GM-free zone. This is a leading principal of the Rio Grande do Sul
state government,'' said Dorneles.
^ REUTERS@
Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited.